Projects in progress

Faculty involved: Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Dr. Enrica Peracin
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves five undergraduate and graduate students from the Linguistic Sciences and Foreign Literatures programs in providing linguistic support to Sinophone students enrolled in primary and lower secondary schools at the Arici Institute in Brescia.

To ensure continuity and systematic monitoring of learning progress and to foster relationships, each university student follows the educational path of a Sinophone student, offering individualized and personalized interventions based on specific needs. Activities include literacy support and linguistic mediation during school hours, as well as assistance with homework after school, for a total commitment of 5 hours per week.

The service-learning objectives of the project are:

• Utilize language and cultural skills in Chinese in an extracurricular activity to aid the literacy of Sinophone students;
• Enhance their own proficiency in the Chinese language through dialogue with Sinophone students and the preparation of educational materials;
• Reflect on the interaction between Chinese and Italian language structures in Sinophone learners;
• Collaborate actively with university professors and the hosting institution’s teachers;
• Build an active and productive relationship with the Sinophone students benefiting from the service to deliver it in a fruitful and stimulating manner;
• Citizenship skills: develop greater awareness of the real difficulties faced by Chinese children in integrating into the school and social community; act as promoters of welcoming, supportive, and open attitudes (towards cultural diversity), positively shaping the perception of Italian reality by the Chinese children involved in the project.

Faculty involved: Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences
Campus: Piacenza
Project coordinator: Professor Tito Caffi
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

"Sustainable urban gardens" is a service learning project aimed at promoting knowledge and integration of sustainability practices in urban gardening. Specifically, it involves students in the planning and execution of activities at the Gasparini Gardens of Educatt, applying crop rotation and sustainability techniques.

In addition to the main activity, the project includes communication efforts aimed at other students and the public during "open days" to spread principles of sustainability and food security.

Students also assist Educatt operators during the summer camp held at the Piacenza campus for children aged 6 to 14. This experience allows them to apply personal skills and those in development, managing aspects related to the planning of crop rotations and successions, as well as sustainable crop management.

The service-learning objectives of the project are:

• Promote knowledge of crop rotation and succession aspects;
• Gain practical experience in planning and managing cultivation activities;
• Communicate the project’s principles to peers (students from other faculties) and the public (children at the summer camp or the community).

The project takes place during the spring and summer months, with activities organized in alternating groups based on the characteristics and needs of the cultivation period.

Faculty involved: Arts and Philosophy
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Massimo Locatelli
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project is aimed at students enrolled in the "Basic Audiovisual Directing" course and the "Production and Post-Production" workshop, part of the undergraduate DAMS degree program. These students engage with the Museo Diocesano of Brescia, meeting with communication managers and some exhibition curators.

Under the guidance of UCSC faculty, students work on creating videos about artworks and conduct video interviews with artists and curators. At the end of the collaboration, the produced works will be made available to the Museo Diocesano to enhance the communication of its projects.

From a service learning perspective, the project aims to achieve the following objectives:

• Observe and understand a model of cultural offerings to the community, specifically the activities and collections of the Museo Diocesano of Brescia;
• Gain practical experience in serving cultural institutions in the city by producing video documentation and materials for communication activities;
• Reflect on proposed themes, including culture in service to the community.

Activities take place from early March to early June 2024, totaling about 30 hours. This commitment includes working with project faculty (case study, pre-production, post-production) and several team outings for filming.

Faculty involved: Economics and Law
Campus: Piacenza
Project coordinators: Professor Roberta Casiraghi; Professor Francesco Centonze; Professor Priscilla Bertelloni
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves collaboration between the University and the Piacenza detention centre.

Initially, students, equipped with adequate theoretical training and accompanied by a reference teacher, enter the penitentiary to collect requests from inmates (front office). Subsequently, at the University, students examine the legal issues raised in order to identify best practices to adopt. During these meetings, divided into groups, they conduct normative and jurisprudential research, also functional to the drafting of petitions.

The service learning objectives of the project include:

• Deepen the theoretical-practical knowledge of criminal law disciplines.
• Develop applicative skills of procedural-criminal institutes.
• Directly know the prison reality.
• Acquire skills in drafting legal documents.

The project started in April and will end in June. Visits to the detention centre are scheduled once a week, with predetermined shifts.

Faculty involved: Mathematical, Physical, and Natural Sciences
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinators: Professor Stefania Pagliara; Professor Giulia Giantesio
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves students from both the undergraduate and graduate programs in organizing laboratory and playful activities focused on mathematics, aimed at secondary school students hospitalized in the Pediatrics Departments of the Civil Hospitals of Brescia and the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo. The context is that of School in Hospital (SiO).

The mathematical games and physics experiments proposed are designed to arouse curiosity and logical reasoning: university students experiment as facilitators of activities in which young patients are encouraged to reflect, identify solutions, and above all, to become passionate about research and scientific discoveries.

The "service" objectives of the project, shared with the SiO teachers, aim to promote positive thinking and curiosity among hospitalized students, to encourage comparison and collaboration with classmates, as well as to improve self-esteem in mathematical and physical abilities, also thanks to a more experimental approach to the discipline itself.

In addition to these, the "learning" objectives for university students are:

• Communicating mathematical and physical contents clearly and effectively using the laboratory approach;
• Organizing flexible learning environments;
• Learning to relate appropriately respecting the times and fragilities of students/patients; Implement personalized/individualized interventions;
• Learning to manage learning groups.

The design of the activities by university students took place in November and December 2023; their implementation in the Pediatrics Departments of the two hospitals takes place in April and May 2024, for a total duration of 40 hours.

Faculty involved: Education
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Monica Amadini
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves a group of students in providing support within the community space and school support center managed by the Emera Association in Brescia. Specifically, they are called upon to assist the service educators in conducting educational and recreational activities, devising cooperative workshops, and also paying attention to and monitoring any situations of fragility that require specific educational interventions.

The service learning objectives that characterize the project are:

• Being able to generate inclusive educational processes, following a community-based approach.
• Actively participating in community processes through the enhancement and development of support networks and local services.
• Promoting the creation of solidarity bonds that can benefit the growth of a cohesive social fabric.

Students are involved in the activities one afternoon a week, during the months of February, March, April, and May 2024.

Faculty involved: Psychology
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Emanuele Serrelli
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves a group of students in supporting the training staff of the "Piacere: Avis" project carried out by the Università Cattolica in collaboration with (and on behalf of) Avis Provinciale Brescia.

The activities carried out directly by the students include:

• Shadowing couples during awareness meetings held in schools of all levels in the province of Brescia and at the Blood Donation Unit in Brescia.
• Participation in staff meetings and training sessions to deepen understanding of Avis, blood donation, and school education.
• Active participation in the planning of new summer activities to be carried out in summer camps and leisure centers.
• Active participation in project evaluation activities.
• Writing a personal thematic reflective diary, periodically compared with those of other participants and with the contents addressed in the course.

The service learning objectives characterizing the project relate to the following areas and contents:

• Pedagogical themes and concepts: relationship, educational distance, symmetry/asymmetry, emancipation, tradition/innovation, autonomy/dependence, education/training/animation.
• Elements of reflective thinking: observation, doubt, questioning, experimentation, comparison and language, hypothesis, concrete/abstract, play/work.
• Training methodologies: context analysis, design, management, communication, team, evaluation.
• Sense-making: values, gift, utopia, universalism, volunteering, inclusion, social participation.

The activity started in March 2024, engaging couples or groups of students for two mornings a week, and will conclude in May 2024.

Faculty involved: Education
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Paola Zini
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves a group of students at the "Tempi per le famiglie" service, promoted and organized by the Rovato branch of Acli, through the definition and development of an intervention to meet the needs of the service and its users.

After an initial phase of classroom planning, students will work alongside the professional responsible for the facility, conducting activities with both children and the accompanying adults, paying particular attention to relational dynamics.

The service learning objectives that characterize the project are:

• Deepen understanding of pedagogical and educational needs in early childhood.
• Observe and understand a parenthood support service: "Tempi per le famiglie."
• Gain practical experience in the service, with specific attention to relationships with children aged 0-3, the relationship between the child and the referring adult, and relationships among adults.

The proposed activities started in March and will conclude in May 2024, involving students for one morning per week.

Faculty involved: Education
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Paola Zini
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves a group of students in the reality of Casa Ozanam-Casa San Vincenzo, a facility that provides accommodation services for mother-child pairs.

Initially, students will engage in classroom activities to design interventions tailored to the needs of the service and its users. Subsequently, they will visit the facility and, in collaboration with the professional figures present, implement the designed intervention.

The service learning objectives of the project include:

• Deepening understanding of pedagogical and educational needs in childhood.
• Exploring the theme of parental support.
• Experimenting with support modalities.

The proposed activity will take place from early March to late May 2024, for one or two afternoons a week, with 2/3 students alternating in managing the intervention.

Faculty involved: Education
Campus: Piacenza
Project coordinator: Professor Elisabetta Musi
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project aims to promote knowledge and collaboration in the development of a participatory research-training path for the teaching staff of the nursery schools of the Compehensive Institute of Maleo, located in the province of Lodi.

The activity involves a group of students from the Master's Degree Educational desing in child and youth services, tasked with participating in online and face-to-face meetings with the nursery school teachers.

Under the supervision of the project's referring professor, the students are responsible for observing the professional-interpersonal dynamics and the co-construction process of the training path. Specifically, they are engaged in the analysis of educational and didactic practices, leveraging the skills acquired and/or in the process of acquisition, such as active listening techniques, observation, and documentation. The work carried out is also shared in the classroom with other students of the master's degree program.

The objectives of the project in terms of service learning are:

• Promote knowledge of the construction of a participatory research-training project (back-office activities).
• Experiment with collaborating in the design of a participatory research-training path (observation of exchanges between teachers and facilitator, assistance in researching materials for training, meta-analysis of processes under the supervision of the facilitator, critical review).
• Share the experience with classmates of the master's degree program.

The activity started in February and will conclude in May 2024, with a time commitment of up to 20 hours for the students.

Faculty involved: Education
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Monica Amadini
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves a group of students in an Integrated Volleyball service through collaboration with the Amateur Sports Association.

The initiative provides an opportunity for students to support the setup of the setting and to experiment with various support roles, including partner athlete, companion, and observer.

The service learning objectives that characterize the project are:

1. Generating inclusive educational processes, following a community-based approach.
2. Developing strategies to embrace diversity in its various expressions, recognizing it as a resource.
3. Using verbal and non-verbal communication codes effectively.
4. Developing observation skills.

Students participate in sports activities for two afternoons a week in the months of February, March, April, and May 2024.

Faculty Involved: Mathematical, Physical, and Natural Sciences
Campus: Brescia
Project Coordinators: Professor Giulia Giantesio; Professor Stefania Pagliara
Academic Year of Implementation: 2023/2024

The project involves students from the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical, and Natural Sciences in a civic education initiative on web usage, coordinated by the Social Cooperative "Il Calabrone" in collaboration with the Municipality of Brescia. This initiative is aimed at students from secondary schools in the territory.

University students are tasked with designing laboratory and playful paths with mathematics exercises focused on the theme of gambling in online video games. The goal is to stimulate curiosity and logical reasoning about probability calculations in young students and debunk common misconceptions and beliefs about the concept of "probable winnings."

The service learning objectives of the project, shared with educators from the cooperative "Il Calabrone," are aimed at raising awareness and preventing the use and abuse of gambling. This is achieved through the development of mathematical and statistical skills and promoting a greater awareness of the use of specific websites and/or applications. The gaming experience in small groups also aims to encourage students to engage in discussion and collaboration with peers, as well as improve their confidence in their mathematical and physical abilities through a more experimental approach to the discipline itself.

In addition to these objectives, the learning goals for university students are:

• Communicating mathematical and physical concepts clearly and effectively using a laboratory approach.
• Organizing flexible learning environments.
• Learning to relate appropriately while respecting the times and vulnerabilities of students/patients.
• Developing personalized/individualized interventions.
• Learning to manage learning groups.

The planning of activities by university students took place in November and December 2023. The execution of activities, in collaboration with the Cooperative "Il Calabrone," is scheduled for March, April, and May 2024, with a total duration of 40 hours.

Faculty involved: Education
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Alessandra Gerolin
Academic year of implementation: 2023/2024

The project involved a group of students, particularly those enrolled in the Master's degree program in Pedagogical Design and Human Resources Training, in activities carried out at the Taivé Tailoring Laboratory in Milan, managed by Caritas Ambrosiana. This laboratory provides training and employment opportunities for women in fragile situations.

The students worked alongside the women engaged in work activities and, through peer dialogue, involved them in a narrative ethics project aimed at raising awareness and sharing the journey of empowerment they had undertaken, also in light of the work performed. They addressed and responded to the need for recognition expressed by the women involved in this project, supporting them in telling their stories of personal and professional growth.

The students were involved in the mentoring activities at the Taivé workshop for three days during March and April 2024, for a total of 9 hours.

The service learning objectives of the project were:

• Testing the philosophical skills acquired in the field of development of capabilities and substantial freedoms.
• Accompanying the awareness of the path taken by women in a situation of vulnerability, through the use of narrative ethics to achieve self-awareness and recognition of one's own value.
• Accompanying the development of desire through dialogue practice.
• Assisting in emancipatory action and awareness of any critical issues.

The outcomes of this path of critical self-awareness and moral development were presented by the women of Taivé themselves, with the support of the students and some pedagogical area professors, at a final public event held at the Via della Garzetta site on May 16, 2024. Social actors and representatives of associations from the Brescia area also participated in the event.

The students also took part in the event organized by FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano, titled "Seta. Sul filo di una storia", held at Palazzo Moroni, in Bergamo, on May 10, 11, and 12, 2024. During this event, the students assisted the tailors of Taivé in conducting a textile workshop on the creative reuse of silk and other materials otherwise destined for waste, which took place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, from 10 am to 6 pm. The demonstrative workshop was complemented by the recounting of the experience lived by the tailors.
The complete program of the event can be found at this link.

Finally, the project received significant international recognition, achieving third place in the 2024 Uniservitate Award.

Read the article about the competition and the award on CattolicaNews.

Faculty involved: Psychology
Campus: Brescia
Project coordinator: Professor Livia Cadei
Academic year of implemenation: 2023/2024

The project involved a group of students in the activities of a refugee reception centre, managed by the social cooperative Kemay and located adjacent to the Brescia campus on Via della Garzetta.

The students, working alongside and supporting the staff, collaborated in both the planning and implementation of daily organized activities, as well as the creation of initiatives for information dissemination, socialization, and entertainment, aimed at promoting the reception and visibility of refugees in the neighborhood where the facility is located.

The service learning objectives of the project include:

• Promoting knowledge of issues related to immigration dynamics
• Experiencing interaction with others and organizing reception and integration activities, utilizing both their personal skills and those in the process of professional acquisition.
• Reflecting on the significance of intercultural experiences and the dimensions of social integration

The students participated in the activities of the reception center during November and December 2023, in specific time slots for three days a week.